A Minnesota Boat Club eight-man scull plies the waters of the Mississippi River on a training row in St. Paul early Aug. 19, 2009. (John Doman / Pioneer Press) Wondering how long the Mississippi ...

(Ginger Pinson / Pioneer Press) In 1926, the Minnesota Department of Health declared the stretch of the Mississippi River that ran through St. Paul a threat to the public’s well-being.

when people who live along the Mississippi offer a meal and a shower to the dozens of strangers who test themselves against Old Man River by paddling small boats from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.